What to know today
- President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed Trump's proposal that Canada become the 51st state at the top of a White House meeting. Carney said in response to a reporter's question that his country would never be for sale, while Trump, in contrast, mused at length about the benefits of his proposition.
- Trump also said nothing Carney could say to him during the meeting would persuade him to lift his tariffs on Canada.
- The Supreme Court allowed Trump to implement his ban on transgender people serving in the military. The court's three liberal justices dissented.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will meet with their Chinese counterparts this week in Switzerland to discuss trade issues, their offices announced tonight. The United States and China have not met since Trump's tariff announcement last month.
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Treasury secretary says China talks will focus on de-escalation
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said tonight that his meeting with a Chinese official in Switzerland is likely to focus on reducing trade tensions between the world's two biggest economies.
“My sense is that this will be about de-escalation, not about the big trade deal,” Bessent said on Fox News. “But we’ve got to de-escalate before we can move forward.”
Bessent said that the Trump administration wants to avoid a complete trade “decoupling” and that China could “have at” mass production of goods that don’t affect U.S. national security.
Voice of America contractors receive termination notices as One America News is brought into the mix
A total of 18 people were called back to work at Voice of America today, a source told NBC News, with contractors beginning to receive termination notices tonight.
The source said Kari Lake, a senior adviser to the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees Voice of America, had signed an agreement for the right-wing outlet One America News to provide content to the Agency for Global Media.
The White House and Lake did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Voice of America has been the focus of a legal battle ever since Trump signed an executive order in March to downsize it.
On Saturday, VOA employees’ and contractors’ email accounts began to be restored in preparation for bringing workers back to the office and resuming programming after an April 22 court order mandated VOA's restoration to statutorily required levels. But later that day, an appeals court granted a pause on the order, halting employees’ and contractors’ return to working status and canceling the disbursement of grants with Agency for Global Media-affiliated networks.
Trump endorses Rep. Mike Lawler for re-election to the House as he weighs a run for New York governor
Trump endorsed Rep. Mike Lawler, who is considering a run for governor of New York, for re-election to his battleground House seat.
"Mike is doing an outstanding job representing the Hudson Valley, and all of New York. Because of the excellent job he is doing, Mike has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election to New York’s 17th Congressional District — HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.
GOP leaders on Capitol Hill have been urging Lawler to pass on a bid for governor, NBC News reported last week. They fear the party would lose the House district — one of three represented by Republicans that Kamala Harris carried in last year's with presidential election — without him on the ballot. And with a razor-thin majority, the GOP will have little margin for error to hold on to control of the House in next year's midterm elections.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is also weighing whether to jump into the race against Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul after Trump pulled her nomination to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Efforts to bring her back into the House GOP leadership fold have resulted in tensions between her and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
Earlier today, Trump endorsed Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who is also considering a 2026 run for governor, for re-election this year.
Stefanik re-posted Trump's endorsements of Lawler and Blakeman on X.
Sen. John Fetterman dismisses former staffer’s claims he’s on a ‘bad trajectory’
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., today dismissed concerns a former top staffer raised about his mental health as he managed depression and recovered from a stroke he suffered during his 2022 Senate campaign.
In a letter obtained by NBC News, dated May 2024 and addressed to Dr. David Williamson, Fetterman’s neuropsychiatrist at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Adam Jentleson, the senator’s former chief of staff, wrote that he was worried his boss was “on a bad trajectory.”
“John frequently exhibits the kind of alarming behavior you told us to look out for when he was discharged (and has continued to do so since we last talked in December),” Jentleson wrote. “But the main thing I want to raise with you is that John appears to be off his recovery plan — at least mostly off it, and possibly entirely off it.”
New York magazine last week was first to report on the letter from Jentleson, who was Fetterman’s chief of staff from January 2023 to April 2024 and then until June 2024 as a senior adviser.
Republicans accuse FBI of jumping to conclusions about 2017 congressional baseball shooter
Top Republicans on the House Intelligence and Judiciary committees are accusing the FBI of jumping to conclusions in its investigation of the motivations of the man who shot lawmakers during a 2017 congressional baseball practice.
The Republicans argued that the FBI concluded before it reviewed all the evidence that the shooter was motivated to kill himself by forcing police to shoot him.
Reps. Rick Crawford of Arkansas, Jim Jordan of Ohio and Ronny Jackson of Texas will release a report arguing that the FBI's "suicide by cop" conclusion "is inconsistent with the facts and evidence," an Intelligence Committee aide told NBC News.
One of the key points from the report says, "The FBI case file makes clear this case was a premeditated assassination attempt on Republican congressmen by a radical, left-wing political extremist, who was seeking to affect the conduct of our government."
The shooter shot three people at the practice, including House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and police then killed the gunman.
In response to a request for comment, the FBI said in a statement: “We are grateful for our partners in Congress, and as Director Patel promised during his confirmation, this FBI is committed to working quickly and transparently with Capitol Hill to ensure the American people receive the full truth they deserve. We have diligently delivered all requested documents and will continue to cooperate fully with Congress to uphold transparency and accountability.”
Rep. Gerry Connolly endorses former chief of staff as scramble to succeed him begins
Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., who announced that he will not run for re-election as he battles esophageal cancer, endorsed his former chief of staff, James Walkinshaw, in the race to fill his seat, according to a letter obtained by NBC News.
Walkinshaw, a member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, launched his campaign for Congress today. His entry is likely to kick off a competitive Democratic primary for the deep-blue seat, centered in the Washington suburb of Fairfax County, the biggest county in Virginia.
In the letter, Connolly describes Walkinshaw, who spent more than a decade as his chief of staff, as being best prepared to take on the job of representing Virginia’s 11th District.
“James brings unmatched experience, a depth of knowledge about federal issues, and a steadfast commitment to progressive values,” he said in the letter. “This is not a moment for on-the-job training. We need a strong representative, experienced in addressing national issues that affect our community, who can stand up to Trump and lead from day one. I believe James Walkinshaw is that leader."
Connolly, who has served in the House since 2009, was named the ranking member of the powerful House Oversight Committee at the start of the new Congress this year, defeating progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. He won the race despite his cancer diagnosis, which at the time was being treated successfully. Last month, Connolly announced that his treatment effort had stalled and that as a result he would step back as the top Democrat on the panel and not seek re-election in 2026.
State Sen. Stella Pekarsky, who represents a wide swath of the 11th Congressional District, also entered the race for Connolly’s seat today. Perasky, a mother of six children, is a former Fairfax County School Board member.
“My north star has always been uplifting children and families,” she said in her announcement video. “That’s why I am running for Congress, because I refuse to stay silent and I refuse to bow down to the criminal in the White House.”
No major Republican has emerged as a potential candidate.
Trump officials to discuss trade with Chinese counterparts this week
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will meet with Chinese officials in Switzerland to discuss trade this week, according to news releases from both governments.
The Treasury Department said Bessent will meet with “the lead representative on economic matters” from China. A news release from China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said the vice premier of the State Council, He Lifeng, will meet with Bessent.
Greer will meet with his “counterpart” from China, who was not named in the trade office’s release.
Bessent said earlier today that the United States and China had not yet “engaged in negotiations” regarding trade.
Florida Republican to lead bipartisan delegation on a visit to El Salvador
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., will lead a small bipartisan delegation of House members on a visit to El Salvador from Thursday through Sunday, her office said today.
Luna, the chair of the El Salvador caucus in the House, had posted a letter from the Salvadoran president’s office, which said she had granted a request to meet with President Nayib Bukele on Thursday.
Caucus co-chair Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, and caucus member Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., will join Luna on the trip, according to her spokesperson.
Gonzalez and Ogles for comment did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., traveled to El Salvador last month to speak with government officials and meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man whom the Trump administration said it mistakenly deported to a prison in El Salvador.
Veterans Affairs secretary defends mass layoffs in testy exchange with Congress
The head of the Department of Veterans Affairs today defended the agency’s slashing of thousands of jobs and said its goal is to cut an additional 15% of its workforce as he testified for the first time since he took the helm.
In testy exchanges with multiple members of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Secretary Doug Collins said the VA was looking into cutting 70,500 more nonessential positions to make it more efficient.
“The department’s history shows that adding more employees to the system doesn’t automatically equal better results,” said Collins, a Navy veteran and Republican former U.S. representative from Georgia, who was sworn in in February.
The VA announced this year that it had fired more than 2,400 employees and planned to end 585 contracts. Many committee members peppered Collins with questions about the consequences of the reductions. Asked to elaborate on which positions and contracts were terminated, he said he would provide them with the information later.
Trump says he hopes for quick resolution between India and Pakistan
Trump said he hopes for a quick resolution of the Inda-Pakistan dispute after India launched strikes in a Pakistan-controlled area.
Asked about the attacks between the two countries, Trump said: “It’s a shame. We just heard about it just as we were walking in the doors of the Oval. Just heard about it. I guess people knew something was going to happen based on a little bit of the past.
“They’ve been fighting for a long time. You know, they’ve been fighting for many, many decades and centuries, actually, if you really think about it. I just hope it ends very quickly,” he said.
India has accused Pakistan of backing militants involved in last month's attack on tourists in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir. Pakistan has denied the allegation.
